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Wednesday 9 January 2008

Tony Mokbel



As his extradition fight wanes, lawyers for the murder accused have flagged plans to use the charter in their attempt to keep Mokbel out of Australia's courts.
Tony Mokbel will use the State Government's new human rights charter in a bid to escape a long prison sentence in Australia.
Mokbel's lawyer, Mirko Bagaric, who has co-authored a book on the charter, said Mokbel shouldn't be tried in Victoria because of his high profile.
If he is extradited, Mokbel's defence team will argue the charter forbids his being tried in Victoria because he is already considered guilty in the minds of potential jurors.
"What we'll be saying is, Tony can't get a fair trial in Victoria," he said.
Mr Bagaric said the charter would make it tougher for the courts to reject the argument.
"Usually, a court could say the community good outweighs the risk that he would not get a fair trial.
"This shifts the balance firmly in favour of the accused," he said.
The charter, which took full effect this month and looks set to be adopted nationally, enshrines the presumption of innocence in the law.
Mokbel, who remains in an Athens jail after his arrest in Greece last June, is running out of options in his extradition battle.
He absconded on bail before he was convicted of serious drug charges and was sentenced in the Victorian Supreme Court in his absence to a minimum of nine years' jail.
Australian courts, including the High Court, have knocked back his arguments against extradition.
If his final appeal in Greece fails on March 4, his team will take the case to the European Court of Human Rights.
If that doesn't work, they will use the new charter to bolster an argument that an accused person shouldn't be tried where jurors might be prejudiced.
Mokbel is wanted in Victoria on more than 20 charges, including two of murder.
A Department of Justice consultation paper says police were not convinced of the need for the charter.
Mr Bagaric said it would clash with some laws, such as tough graffiti laws, that conflict with an individual's right to free speech.
He said judges would have the power to declare a law incompatible with the charter.
It would then be up to Parliament to decide if the law should be changed.

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